Chapter 2

Alicia entered her house right on time for dinner. Her mother was busy serving the food with her older brother's help. Her younger sister and her younger brother were in the living room which was located on her right. The red haired ten-year-old girl was reading a book and the red haired three-year-old boy was playing with his action figures. She smiled when she saw her older brother looking at her and rushed upstairs to put her things away. Then, she came downstairs, dressed in her casual t-shirt and skirt. She rushed to help her brother.

"Where were you?" the red haired adolescent asked.

"I was working…you're the one who told me that I should get a job," she whispered a reply.

"Yeah…but, I warned you about going off working up to 7 o'clock," he replied.

"I know, I know…I'll work it out," she replied, sighing.

"Oh, Alicia…I didn't know you were back," her mother asked.

"I'm sorry I'm late, mother…" she replied.

"Asch, go call your father. It's almost 8.30…and everyone is here now," Mrs Koizumi said to her son.

Asch nodded. He went upstairs to his father's study room. Alicia's sister walked up to the dining table with their youngest brother in her hold. She smiled to Alicia and put her brother on his seat. Then, she took hers.

"Kate, are you done with your homework?" her mother asked.

"Yes…all finished, mother," the ten-year-old replied, fixing her locks.

The mother smiled and nodded. Asch came downstairs with his father. They took their seats without a word. Mrs Koizumi sat at her chair. They said some prayers and started to eat their roasted beefs and rice.

Swallowing his food, Mr. Koizumi asked, "What have you been up to after Honey Lemon picked you up, Alicia?"

She glanced up at her brother who shrugged it off with a small nod. Alicia nervously swallow the food inside her mouth, took a sip of her fresh orange and stared at her father in the eye.

"I was… I met the heroes… I am a big fan of them," she said.

Kate was surpised. "You went there alone?! That's not fair!" she exclaimed.

Coughing, the middle aged man said, "Kate, control your excitement."

He turned to Alicia who looked uneasily at him. Asch was busy with his beef and trying his best to ignore the conversation. Alicia continued eating, or rather was playing with her rice. Mrs. Koizumi was busy managing her youngest son to even join in the conversation. Kate wanted to do something to get off the awkwardness.

"Well, how did you meet them?" Kate asked.

"Honey kind of introduced them to me…" Alicia muttered.

Sighing, their father said, "I hope you're not lying to me about this…"

Forcing a smile and a giggle, she asked, "Why would I, father? I would never lie to you. You taught me that…"

Asch blurted out, "She's working at Lucky Cat Café. I told her to do so because you taught us that if we wanted to buy something that is not study-related, we have to buy ourselves. She's working to buy something like that. Is that wrong?"

Turning to Asch with a stern look, the man replied, "No, Asch. It's not wrong. Is the school okay about this?"

"Yes," Asch said before the girl could answer. "She's not doing anything that can violate the rules. I'll watch over her so that she didn't do anything stupid."

"I'll take you up on that. She can keep the job, but she still has to help with house chores and taking care of Joey," Mr. Koizumi said.

"She's doing her part just fine, father," Asch replied, backing his sister up.

Mr. Koizumi nodded to him and turned to his daughter. "What is it that you wanted to buy?" he asked.

"Uhh…it's a doll. A Baymax plush. It's Joey's size, very huggable and…" her words were interrupted.

"That's okay. You don't have to continue…" her father muttered, continuing to eat.

After dinner, Asch and Alicia did the dishes together. Their father was in his study room and their mother was giving Joey a bath. Kate was still at the dining table, waiting for her sister. Alicia glanced up at Asch as she passed him the washed plates and glasses and bowls. Asch didn't say anything.

She spoke up, "Thanks for telling him for me."

Asch replied, "I did it to cut off the awkwardness in the air…"

Alicia chuckled nervously. "I know… I'm not really good with him…"

"Hey, guys…" Kate interrupted them.

"What is it, Kate?" the brother asked.

The girl stared at her sister. "Is it fun working there?"

Alicia continued her work and replied, "Uhhh…yeah. I mean I like the colors of the donuts I served and all. You know how I am not good at talking to people… So, now I'm learning to be more sociable…"

"Will you get an autograph from Hiro for me?" Kate asked.

"S-Sure…I g-guess I could do that for you…" Alicia muttered, giving out a small smile.

Kate changed the topic and mentioned about the death of their neighbor. Alicia turned to Asch and he thought for a while before saying that he didn't know anything in particular. Kate told them that the people thought he was killed by someone. Alicia passed the last bowl to Asch and he wiped it. Then, they sat down opposite of Kate and stared her in the eyes. Kate felt shivers down her spine.

"You don't have to know," Asch said monotonously.

"Yeah, even I don't know about it. Well, I don't want to know about it. Don't go prying about things you don't have to know," Alicia said sternly.

"So, what? I have to pretend to be a normal ten-year-old?" Kate asked rather snobbishly.

Asch and Alicia turned to look at each other. They were discussing with their eyes, Alicia telling him to talk to Kate and him telling Alicia to do that. Kate is a bright girl with big brains, but not to the extent of being a prodigy. She just adores Math and Science, and she loves robots. However, her parents made her hide that fact for the time being for some reasons none of the children knew.

Asch snapped back at Kate and said, "Yes. For now, just do that. Once I graduated, you can try and get yourself in SFIT…"

"Hey, little man!" Wasabi greeted him as he stepped into the café.

"Hey, Wasabi," Hiro replied, serving a plated of donuts to Fred.

Wasabi sat beside the comic maniac. Honey and Gogo weren't coming in that day as they thought about asking the police regarding the dead man. It was Friday and it was a hectic day. Since it was only 12 noon, Alicia was still in school, so Hiro had to help out where he can. Fred and Wasabi watched as he served drinks and minded the cash register with a nervous smile on his face. He is really not good with people he hardly knew. Aunt Cass, on the other hand, was doing great with greeting the customers and laughing at their jokes. Hiro went up to his two friends after he had served a cup of tea to a customer.

"So…I wanted to ask you guys something," Hiro started, grabbing himself a donut.

Wasabi, munching on a donut, asked, "What is it?"

"You have a problem or something?" Fred asked too.

Hiro rubbed the back of his neck, drawling an, "Errrrrr…"

"Don't keep us hanging, Hiro," Wasabi said, giving him an assured smile.

The young boy rested his arms on the table. "Ummm…what do you guys think of Alicia? I mean, is she- is she a good waitress?" he pattered.

Wasabi and Fred glanced up at each other, a smirk plastered on both of their faces. They stared at Hiro with their teasing smirk.

"Someone's got a thing for Alicia…" Fred said, moving his brows up and down.

Hiro rubbed the back of his neck again and stammered, "N-No, it's not like that… It's just…I don't know. She's as old as me and all…and it's hard to meet someone like her…"

"Like her? Why?" Wasabi asked in a teasing tone.

"Err…I don't know…" Hiro mumbled, looking around to avoid eye contact with his two best friends.

Wasabi and Fred moved their brows up and down, staring at the teen in front of them. Hiro sweat dropped as he searched for excuses to tell his friends. The two waited patiently for what he has to say but the boy kept on chewing on his bottom lip. Soon, Alicia made an appearance and Hiro panicked. His two friends tried hard not to laugh.

"Alicia, good timing!" Aunt Cass called out to the girl.

"Y-Yes, Miss Hamada?" Alicia stammered, surprised as the woman appeared right in front of her.

The woman shook head and said in a rather stern tone, "It's 'Aunt Cass'…"

She pulled the girl with her to the back of the café where her room stood. The girl trotted behind her.

"Hiro, mind the café for a while please!" she called out.

Hiro, a bit startled, replied, "S-Sure thing, Aunt Cass…!"

He sighed. Wasabi and Fred chuckled amusingly at his reaction. Hiro turned to his friends, rather oblivious that they were laughing at him. He stood up when he saw a customer heading to the counter. He told his friends to wait for him to finish his job first. Fred and Wasabi started talking about him once they were sure that he was far away from them, minding the cash register.

Wasabi whispered, "I can't believe Hiro's actually falling for a girl…"

"Yeah, me too. It's like a story in comic book where a hero meets his destined partner and then, the partner is captured, forcing the hero to give something in order to save her…" Fred's words were interrupted.

"Fred, don't start with your fantasies," Wasabi warned, "I mean, he may be a hero and a boy genius, but he is human…so, of course he'd fall in love someday."

They suddenly heard a shout, "It's a perfect fit!"

All eyes turned towards the owner of the voice – Aunt Cass. She was beaming excitedly towards something, or someone. Alicia slowly stepped out of the room and into the café. Hiro gaped at what she was wearing. It was a black maid uniform, matched with a white apron which has a decoration of Baymax's face right at the chest part. The uniform has long sleeves, ending with a cuff at each wrist. It went a few centimeters over her knees and she was wearing white socks to cover the rest of her legs, with matching pair of black flats. Wasabi and Fred stared at her too. She looked like a little doll to them. She was blushing because of all the attention she was getting. Hiro was still gaping when Aunt Cass went up to him.

"So, what do you think of my masterpiece?" she asked, grinning happily.

"H-Huh?" he turned to her, glancing up at Alicia who was still blushing.

His aunt raised her brows and shoulders, pointing at Alicia. Hiro snapped out of his thoughts and muttered, "Uhhh…y-yeah. She's- she's fine… It looks n-nice on her. C-Can I go sit now?"

His aunt nodded. Hiro rushed to his friends. He heaved a sigh of relief once he was back on his seat. Alicia was listening to Aunt Cass's explanation of why she had to wear that. It appeared that the woman had made that especially for her because she has been very helpful for the past three weeks. Alicia blushed again when Aunt Cass mentioned how cute she was, with her short hair and wide eyes, not to mention her short stature. She started her work after that. Meanwhile, Hiro was trying hard not to stare.

Wasabi looked at Hiro and said, "You should really ask her on a date…"

"Wha? How did it come to this?" Hiro stuttered.

Smirking and staring Hiro in the eyes, Fred said, "It's written all over your face. We know you like her."

Hiro was speechless. "I never… That's not… She's not… We're not…" he jabbered.

The two stared with a smirk plastered on their faces. Wasabi had a bit of a concerned expression and Fred was moving his brows up and down. Hiro rubbed the back of his neck, glancing up at Alicia who was chattering happily with an old woman. The elderly was patting her back and laughing while she was smiling nervously and nodding. Hiro took a few minutes to stare at her face. His lips curved into a smile.

"Little man, you should get her before someone else does…" Wasabi advised him.

"Huh? Who would?" he asked, turning to him.

Shrugging, the young man said, "I don't know. Anyone would with her sweet smile, small stature and delicateness. Someone could fall head over heels in love with her in a flash."

"Good luck!" Fred said and patted his back.

The two friends left after paying for their food and drinks. They smiled to Hiro before exiting the café. Hiro was staring into spaces when Alicia came by to clean the table.

"Ummm…" she started, snapping him from his thoughts. "A-Are you cleaning up this table? Or do you want me to…"

"Oh, r-right! I-I'll clean it up!" he interrupted her question.

Nodding, Alicia waited for him to finish picking up the dirty cups and plates. Then, she wiped the table. Hiro watched as she did.

"So…" he started, turning her attention to him, "A-Are you free tomorrow?"

"Why so suddenly…?" she asked, staring at him.

"W-Would you like to go out with me? I mean, a movie or just a walk at the park?" he stammered.

Alicia pondered for a while and then, replied, "Uhhh…I got to get to work. Can we talk about this later?"

"S-Sure…I guess…" Hiro muttered a reply.

Alicia bowed to him and rushed up to mind the cash register. Hiro dragged himself to the sink to wash the dishes. Aunt Cass, who saw everything, giggled at her beloved nephew.